The present invention pertains to the highly competitive sport of drag racing including the type of competition referred to as "Bracket Racing," which is different from the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) style of handicap racing, as discussed hereinafter.
In order to fully comprehend the numerous advantages of the present invention, it is necessary to define and describe the sport of drag racing and to discuss in detail the layout of the drag racing track and, more specifically, the electronic starting system utilized in drag racing to provide each competitor with the fairest start possible. The electronic systems employed for determining the drag racing vehicles' elapsed time, hereinafter referred to as "ET," and the top-end speed of the vehicle which is determined at or near the finish line, will also be discussed below.
Essentially, drag racing is a pairing of two vehicles against one another in a race through a quarter or eighth mile straightaway course. The drag racing strip or track consists of two racing lanes, one for each racing vehicle. The start of the race is the key to its uniqueness, in that all races are started from a standstill.
The present day electronic starting system is a product of continued development, designed to provide each competitor with the fairest start possible. Replacing the human element, the "flagman" which served the sport in its infancy, today's standardized electronic starting system is commonly referred to as the "Christmas Tree." This system features a vertical series of lights, displaying a visual countdown for each driver. It is located on the center line of the drag racing track, between the two racing lanes, approximately twenty feet downcourse from the "starting-line." The "Christmas Tree" is also equipped with lights utilized to indicate when each racing vehicle is "pre-staged" and properly "staged" and ready for competition, which will be more fully explained below. The starting system is activated by a designated official Starter, using a hand-held device, when both of the racing vehicles are properly "staged."
In the Sportsman/handicap racing categories, the racing cars are started with a full five amber light "Christmas Tree," allowing two and one half seconds to elapse from the start of the countdown until the light flashes green, thereby indicating to the driver the starting time of the race. Professional/non-handicap categories use a single amber starting signal at all major NHRA events.
Most drivers try to make their "move" between the time that the last amber light is going "off" and the green light is coming "on." If a driver reacts too quickly, however, the electronic starting system will indicate on the "Christmas Tree" a red light foul start indication. In elimination racing, a foul start is an automatic loss and the driver is disqualified from the competition for the event.
The individual driver's technique in "staging" and starting is one of the most vital skills a drag racer can develop as a majority of races are won and lost at the "starting-line." This is particularly true in the case of "Bracket Racing" which represents a type of racing competition in the sport of drag racing, which will now be discussed.
"Bracket Racing" is drag racing with a slight twist or modification. The object of the race is to arrive at the finish line before your opponent does, without fouling, and by not running faster or quicker than your "index." The difference, though, between bracket racing and NHRA-style racing is that in the brackets, the competitor, and no one else, picks the "index." Since the competitor decides how fast his or her car should run, which determines the choice of an appropriate "index," the key to winning at the brackets, therefore, is consistency--consistency of the car's performance and the consistency of a driver's performance, particularly with respect to the driver's "staging" technique (prior to the start of the race), "starting-line" technique (at the time the race is started), and performance (at the finish line). Since the key winning determination factor in bracket racing is the car's ET (Elapsed Time), regardless of the speed of the car at the finish line, a discussion regarding the calculation of a racing car's ET now follows.
Contrary to popular belief, a racing car's ET and the green light indication on the "Christmas Tree," indicating to the driver the start of the race, have nothing to do with each other. In other words, a car's ET does not begin with the time at which the green light is turned "on." The ET begins when the driver and the racing vehicle "break" the "staging" light beam. This accepted nomenclature in the field of drag racing is deceiving in its description or reference to the "staging" light beam in that "breaking" the "staging" light beam technically means the "unblocking" of this light beam, by the front tire of the racing vehicle, so that the "staging" light beam photodetector device receives light from the "staging" light beam source, as further discussed in detail hereinafter.
Moreover, consistent reaction of the driver of any racing vehicle at the start of the race and the "starting-line" position or "staging" position of a drag racing vehicle (prior to the start of the race) most acceptably constitute the essential factors of winning the race no matter what type of drag racing competition is involved whether it be bracket racing or NHRA-style handicap racing or others.
Furthermore, the "staged" position of the racing vehicle at the starting-line is probably the most important aspect of a driver's starting technique in that each driver has different speed reflexes, or reacting times; people with slower reflexes can compensate for their slowness by trying to leave the starting-line sooner, knowing that it will take longer to actually get moving. A driver has to make several driving runs to find out the optimum time for leaving the starting-line, near or upon noting the green light "go" indication from the "Christmas Tree," whether it is just as the next or last amber light goes "on," goes "out" or as the last amber light comes "on." A driver's reaction time will probably be between one and three hundredths of a second and he or she must ascertain, accurately approximate, what the timing cycle of the red light is with respect to "staging" and the green light indication. Once each driver masters the beforementioned starting techniques, he or she must endeavor to position the drag racing vehicle at a particularly preferred and predetermined "staging" position in that the driver's reacting time normally is substantially consistent race to race. This before-mentioned procedure is generally called "cutting a good light" and the object, therefore, is to start the ET clock ticking or counting as close to the red light trigger indication as possible, without actually "tripping the switch" which means "breaking" the "staging" light beam prior to green light "go" indication. Consistently getting the ET clock started just a hairs breadth away from a red light foul indication, herein referred to as "cutting a good light" is, for example, in bracket racing, the single most important aspect thereof.
Races are constantly won by as few as hundredths of a second and even frequently by thousandths of a second. With such an exacting winning context, one would expect that a great deal of standardization would exist in the sport of drag racing with respect to the "rollout distance" at the "starting-line" area of each and every drag racing track. However, this is not true and, in fact, the "rollout distance" varies greatly. In this regard, a discussion now follows with respect to the "rollout distance."
The "rollout distance" has been described as being that distance the front tire of a drag racing vehicle travels from the point at which its leading edge first interrupts or blocks the "pre-staging" light beam to the point at which the trailing edge of the front tire passes through and "makes" the "staging" light beam.
Furthermore, the "rollout distance" has been more accurately defined as the distance the front tire of a drag racing vehicle travels from the point at which its leading edge first interrupts or blocks the "staging" light beam until, or to the point at which, its trailing edge passes through and "makes" or unblocks the "staging" light beam. With regard to this latter definition, the "rollout distance" particularly varies, for each driver with respect to the size of the front tire of the drag racing vehicle, i.e., the diameter and profile including circumference thereof. Essentially though, the "rollout distance" is the distance the front tire of a racing vehicle travels from a "staged" position to the point at which a red light indication can occur. Further explanation with respect to the techniques of "shallow staging" and "deep staging" will be presented hereinbelow.
Accordingly, with regard to the above and with reference to the situation concerning the non-standardization of some of the essential elements of the electronic starting system employed and utilized at drag racing tracks across the country, the following is presented.
The primary elements of the electronic starting system, which are mounted at track or ground level, are: (1) the "pre-staging" and "staging" light beam sources and their respective photodetector devices (one set for each racing lane, and (2) the "Christmas Tree." Each racing track, as far as can be ascertained, installs and maintains these beforementioned devices. Moreover, particularly with respect to the light beam sources and respective photodetectors, it is common knowledge that there exists no requirement or standard governing the exact and uniform installation of these devices on each drag racing strip with the possible exception of the "Christmas Tree" device, as discussed below. More specifically, no installation requirement exists for the following:
1. the height at which the "pre-staging" and "staging" light beam sources are mounted above the track or ground level;
2. the distance between the mounting positions of the "pre-staging" and "staging" light beam sources; and
3. the intensity of each of the light beam sources, and particularly, the "staged" light beam source is not maintained to, or kept at, a specific or constant level.
It is, therefore, evident that, firstly, the "rollout distance" described above at each drag racing track is not uniform and, in fact, varies greatly. For example, the "rollout distance" may vary from a distance, at one racing track, of 8 to 9 inches up to as much as a distance of 14 to 16 inches, at another racing track. Secondly, it is evident that such a situation creates an additional burden on each driver which accordingly amplifies the difficulty he or she is confronted with in positioning the racing vehicle to a preferred and predetermined "starting-line" position.
Furthermore, the "starting-line" of a drag racing track or strip is not marked in such a way as to be visually perceivable to the driver of a drag racing vehicle. In fact, it is generally known that no "starting-line" marking(s) appear on the racing surface of a drag racing track in that such a marking would be continually erased, altered or removed by the driven, traction tires of a drag racing vehicle each time a race is started. Accordingly, it is generally accepted knowledge that the "starting-line" area is essentially that area defined by the path of the "staging" light beam, as projected from its source across the racing lane to the staging light beam photodetector device.
Moreover, the "staging" light beam is not a finite, visually perceptible beam of light, nor is it a narrow, high intensity light beam such as that generated from a laser source. The nature of the "staging" light beam, more accurately defined as a broad or wide beam of light, therefore, further complicates the driver's task of placing a racing vehicle in a preferred starting-line position.
In this regard, a further degree of possible error exists with respect to the exact position of a racing vehicle at the "starting-line" and the driver's perceived starting-line position of the drag racing vehicle.
It is, therefore, in view of the above description, the purpose of the present invention to provide a method of and apparatus for positioning a drag racing vehicle which enables the driver of such a vehicle to accurately position the drag racing vehicle to a preferred and predetermined "starting-line" position.